An unlicensed cab driver has been jailed for seven years and three months after being found guilty of raping a female passenger.

Mohamed Hacene-Chaouch, 46, assaulted the drunk young woman after she had been celebrating a friend's birthday and had become separated from the group in Soho, central London, on 26 January.

Sentencing the father-of-five at the Old Bailey, the judge, Wendy Joseph, said: "It must have been clear to you that she was helplessly and hopelessly drunk.

"She trusted you to take her safely home. She was clearly vulnerable, she was obviously helpless and in your power, and I regard this as a significant feature."

The woman, who is in her 20s, said the last thing she remembered was being in the back of a car and being taken to a cashpoint.

She said she drifted in and out of consciousness but woke in the car outside her east London home to find Hacene-Chaouch sexually assaulting her.

Hacene-Chaouch claimed the woman had approached him saying a black cab would not take her because she was too drunk. He denied he had been touting for trade or had committed any sexual assault.

After Hacene-Chaouch, of Catford, south London, was found guilty at the Old Bailey last month, Joseph told the jury he had been accused of a similar offence before.

He was accused of attacking a drunken woman passenger in 2004 but was acquitted.

Wearing a dark grey suit and spectacles, Hacene-Chaouch showed no emotion and stared straight ahead as the judge passed sentence.

But as he was told he would be prohibited from working or seeking work as a taxi driver for 10 years, he shouted: "God is great, I'm innocent," towards his wife, who watched proceedings from the public gallery. The court heard that she was standing by her husband.

During mitigation, Gary Rutter for the defence said Hacene-Chaouch had not used any violence against the victim, did not prevent her from leaving his cab after the attack and did take her to her home.

But the judge said: "I haven't heard a single word of remorse in any way, shape or form."

She said a pre-sentence report indicated that the offence was related to his general attitude towards women.

Joseph said he was "no stranger to the courts" as he also has a previous conviction for theft and five for taxi touting.

Hacene-Chaouch will also have to sign the sex offenders register for life.